Of Dark Lords and Toads
by Lexie Lupin
Summary: Secrets are revealed, the Ministry interfers with Hogwarts through the new DADA teacher, and dangerous rumors are spread about the Dark Lord who could very well be alive! Looks like another eventful year for Alec and friends! Sequel to SSL
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own the HP characters. This goes for the remainder of the story.

* * *

The alarm went off at 8:30, which annoyed Alec but there was nothing he could do about it. Having to wake up early every morning was one of the rules for the summer, or at least the part of the summer that he was grounded for.

The boy shuffled to his feet slowly, rubbing the tiredness from his eyes. He took a quick shower before heading downstairs for breakfast at nine. Severus was already at the table, reading the Daily Prophet and sipping his coffee.

"G'mornin'," Alec mumbled as he slid into his chair. He poured some milk into his bowl of cereal and began eating it.

"When you are finished here, you are to complete your charms assignment. Then you are to assist me in preparation for a potion that I will be brewing this evening."

Alec swallowed the food in his mouth before replying, "What potion are you brewing?"

"I have devised an alteration to the original formula of the Wolfsbane potion. Theoretically, it will continue to sustain the feral portion of the wolf while also rendering the transformation painless."

The boy looked up at his father and rolled his eyes. "English please? It's too early for all those big words," he whined.

Severus smirked. "The potion should help Lupin have a painless transformation, or at least it will reduce the amount of pain he feels."

"You could have just said that, you know," Alec muttered while his father continued to smirk at him.

"Finish your breakfast and get started on that charms assignment," the potions master instructed as he got up from the table. He swept from their kitchen with his cloak billowing behind him like usual.

Alec dropped his head onto the table with a thump. It was going to be another long day.

* * *

The first few weeks of summer break were basically the same. In the morning he had to get up early, eat breakfast and then start on assignments. He'd even finished them all up by the second week of vacation. In the afternoons, his father always found some _interesting_ task for him to complete. That usually consisted of dicing up ingredients, scrubbing cauldrons or some other task that was never fun. Thankfully the evenings were his own to spend however he liked.

For the upcoming full moon, Professor Lupin would be coming over here for Severus to monitor him, while Alec went to stay with his godfather for the evening. Together, with Alec preparing the ingredients and Severus actually brewing the potion, the two Snapes had created a new prototype of the Wolfsbane potion. Lupin would drink the potion and sit in a secured cage to keep him away from Severus, should something go wrong during the transformation.

Alec's grounding ended on the first week of July, and happened to be on the same day as the full moon. Since he was going to be with his godfather, he was allowed to relax and have a fun evening since he was no longer being punished.

The boy was currently putting some clothes in a bag to take with him that evening. He finished putting items in his satchel just as his father called him from downstairs. He saw Remus stumbled slightly from the floo and then the older man dusted himself off. Remus looked pretty tired and worn down, but he was smiling at the prospect of a possible potion to help aid the transformation.

"Hi Professor Lupin," Alec greeted.

"I am no longer your professor, you know," Remus replied smiling at the young boy. "You can call me Remus or Moony, if you'd like."

"Okay," Alec nodded. "Moony it is."

"Are you ready to go?" Severus asked, eyeing the small bag in his son's hand.

"Yup," the boy replied. "I brought some clothes and that's about all I need."

"Black is waiting for you," the potions master stated. "Behave, if that is possible, and I will see you tomorrow."

"Me? Behave? When haven't I behaved?" Alec asked innocently. He reached forward and gave his father a hug before stepping closer to the fireplace. "I hope that potion works for you Moony. See you both tomorrow." Alec grabbed a pinch of floo powder, tossed in the fireplace before stating his destination and stepped into the flames, disappearing in a flash.

He stumbled from the fireplace, directly into the arms of his godfather, who thankfully prevented him from landing flat on his face.

"Hey kiddo," Sirius greeted with a bright smile.

"Hi Sirius," Alec replied, standing up and dusting himself off. "I hate flooing," he added with a grumble.

The other man laughed. "I hated it too until I got the hang of it. So, are you hungry?"

"Not really," Alec replied before he looked suspiciously at Sirius. "Can you even cook?"

"Um… no," his godfather smiled guiltily. "Moony didn't make any breakfast this morning," he added with a scowl. "He knows I can't cook!" he added.

Alec laughed. "I can cook a bit so let's check out what you've got in the fridge and see what I can whip together."

"A godson who cooks!" Sirius said in a mock astounded tone.

"You already knew I could cook. That's why you asked me first thing if I was hungry wasn't it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, which of course made Alec look a lot like his father.

Sirius threw up his hands in surrender. "Apparently I am not as smooth as I used to be," he moaned.

"It's because you are getting old, my dear godfather," Alec smirked.

"What?! I am not getting old!"

"The first step to getting over it is acceptance, you know…" the boy quipped.

Sirius chose not to answer, and instead banged his head against the nearest wall.

* * *

Both Sirius and Alec flooed over the next morning to see how the transformation went for Remus. Last night had been fun for both of them. They hadn't spent a whole lot of time together in the past year and it was enjoyable for them both to sit around and just talk.

It was quiet in the house when the two arrived. They headed to the room where they knew Remus would be staying and found said man fast asleep on the bed. He looked exhausted as usual but he didn't appear to have any other wounds. Sirius stayed to sit with Remus, even though he was fast asleep, while Alec left to find his father. He found his father in the kitchen, pouring himself a fresh cup of coffee.

"Morning dad," the boy greeted. "How did it go last night?"

"Acceptable," the potions master replied. "The potion allowed him to retain his human mind but there was still pain during the transformation. Lupin assures me that it was only about half as painful from a normal transformation, which is better than nothing."

"So can you just increase the amount of pain numbing ingredients in the potion to make it stronger?" Alec asked.

"It's not as simplistic as that. When increasing certain ingredients, I need to keep the remainder of the potion balanced out so that Lupin would not overdose or end up in a coma," Severus explained.

"Were there any side effects?" the dark-haired boy asked curiously.

"Lupin described symptoms of being weaker than usual this morning after he returned to his human form. Once he wakes again, I shall give him a restorative draught and that should assist him in regaining his strength."

"I'm glad it helped him, even if it was only a bit," Alec commented.

Severus nodded. "Was your evening enjoyable?"

"Yeah, it was great! Sirius and I talked for a while, then he showed me some card games and we played several different games before going to bed."

"You didn't stay up too late, did you?"

"Define too late," Alec joked. Severus merely raised an eyebrow. "Alright, alright. I'm just kidding. No we didn't stay up too late, I promise."

"Are you going to contact your friends and decide upon a date for them to arrive?" the potions master inquired.

"I'd forgotten about that. I'll owl them later today and see when they will be able to come over. I can't wait until we can practice some more on our transformation," the boy added excitedly.

"I will also be testing their Occlumency shields to determine if they are adequate. If they are, then you are permitted to explain everything to them."

Alec grimaced slightly. "I'm glad that I won't have to keep my real name a secret from them anymore, but yet, I'm worried about their reactions."

"I'm sure everything will work out," Severus reassured the boy.

Alec crossed his fingers mentally and hoped very much so that things would turn out alright.

* * *

A/N: Here is the short start to this story, which has no title yet. Anyone want to suggest something? I wont give out any details about what is going to happen, other than that it will be an eventful year. Please review and tell me what you think so far! I'll get started in a day or two on the next chapter and hopefully have that up within a week or two. Happy (Belated) New Year! 


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry for the delay. I could not get this chapter to work out the way I wanted and I still hate it but hopefully it works for you all. Better now than never...

* * *

Alec waited nervously by the fireplace for his two best friends to arrive. They were going to floo to his house from the Leaky Cauldron and the two should arrive any minute. Sure enough, the fireplace flared to life and Lisa stumbled slightly as she stepped out. Alec greeted her with a quick smile and a hug before turning back to the fireplace, which once again spit out his other friend. Josh tumbled from the fireplace and landed on the floor and laughed as he did so.

"I've never got the hang of flooing," he grumbled as he stood and dusted himself off. Josh then turned to his two friends and greeted them as well.

"So have you guys been practicing your Occlumency?" Alec asked.

"I have," Lisa replied. "Since I can't do magic at home, I have to find something productive to do so I practiced a lot."

"I've practiced a bit and I think it's good enough," Josh replied.

"I shall be the judge of that," Severus replied from the doorway, causing the two new arrivals to turn around sharply.

"Good afternoon, sir," the young girl stated.

"Shall we get this done and over with?" Severus asked abruptly.

Alec shared a quick glance at his two friends, who nodded. The three Ravenclaws followed the potions professor into the library. Severus then attempted to enter the mind of Lisa first, and found that her Occlumency shields held up. Severus nodded his approval and she smiled happily. He then repeated his actions on Josh, whose shields were not quite as strong, but they still managed to hold.

"Your friend's shields are adequate and I believe it will be safe for you to share certain things with them," the older man commented to his son. He turned back to the other two Ravenclaws. "No matter what you hear today, you are not permitted to share this information with anyone else. No one and that includes your family or any other friends that you may have. If you have a problem keeping information to yourself, then see yourself out." Severus then swept from the room with his cloak billowing behind him.

"I have some important stuff to say and I really do trust you. I couldn't say anything before because I needed you both to be able to keep this a secret. That's why you both had to learn Occlumency." Alec looked down at his hands. "I'll understand if you guys don't want to talk to me anymore after I tell you about the lies I have been living."

"I am really starting to wonder what you are going to share with us but just so you know, I intend to share a secret about my family as well," Lisa admitted.

"I don't think anything you say will make me hate you," Josh stated with certainty.

Alec smiled slightly and took a deep breath. "You guys know I haven't always lived with Severus," he stated and they nodded. "He, well, he isn't my real dad."

Lisa gasped. "But you both look so much alike."

"That would be because he adopted me using a potion that gave me some of his features. It also gave me some of his blood, so technically he is now my father." Alec explained.

"Anyway, I grew up with my mother's sister and her family. Her son, Dudley, was pretty mean to me and always blamed me for it. I often was punished after he broke something and told his dad or mum that it was my fault. I don't really want to go into details there, but after something happened, I met Severus." Alec paused and took a deep breath, willing himself to continue.

"He saved me from them after my uncle punished me rather severely. I then came to Hogwarts and was later adopted by Severus. He helped me get over some problems that I had and then he ended up teaching me things like Occlumency and how to defend myself."

Alec picked up a glass of water and sipped it slowly.

"After I was adopted by Severus, we decided that it would be best if I attended Hogwarts a year earlier than I should to protect my real identity."

Lisa gasped. "You- you're younger than us?" she asked incredulously.

Alec smiled slightly. "Yeah, I should have been entering my second year rather than my third."

"Why would you need to enter school a year earlier to protect your identity?" Josh asked.

"Well, for one thing, no one would expect me to be at Hogwarts then. Plus they wouldn't even think to look twice at Severus Snape's son." At the confused looks on his two friend's faces, he elaborated. "Severus and my birth-father did not get along at all during their school days."

"Okay, I understand so far. But you still haven't answered why you would need to protect your identity…" Lisa then trailed off as she figured it out.

"You-you're…" she stuttered with her eyes wide.

Alec nodded and turned to Josh who was confused with everything.

"What did I miss? You haven't said who yet so how did you figure it out?" Josh demanded.

Lisa rolled her eyes. "Think. Who would have been a year younger than us that didn't show up for school last year?"

Josh's brow was furrowed as he though. "Hmm, the only person that didn't attend Hogwarts last year was Harry Potter…" Josh then trailed off as Lisa had done. His eyes widened as the implications hit and he turned to look at Alec.

Alec was too busy biting his lip and staring down at his hands. He didn't want to look up and see the anger in their faces. They were bound to be mad at him, especially since he lied to them.

"Oh Merlin!" Josh exclaimed. "My best friend is actually _Harry Potter_?"

Alec bit his lip. "I, well I really am sorry about keeping this from you both. I never wanted to lie to you. I'll understand if you don't want to be friends with me anymore," he lowered his eyes. "Just- please don't tell anyone what you learned today about me."

Lisa's sudden hug shocked him from his dejected state. He was sure his friends wouldn't want to be around him after they learned how he has always lied to them.

"Don't think that!" Lisa scolded. "I don't care who you are-were-whatever. You may have been Harry Potter before, but I have always known you to be Alec Snape, one of my best friends."

Alec smiled at her and turned his gaze to Josh, waiting to hear his thoughts on the matter.

"What?" Josh asked, feeling slightly unnerved that Alec always managed to stare at him like his father did. "Well, I agree with her. I don't care who you were before. I mean it is kind of cool learning your best friend is famous but no one else knows he is famous. You know what I mean," Josh added, scowling at Alec's smirk.

"So, you guys really don't hate me? I _lied_ to you."

"Alec, it's okay. You didn't lie to us because you wanted to; you did it to protect your identity," Lisa reassured.

Alec gave a sign of relief. "Thanks for being good friends."

"Seeing as we are sharing secrets, I figured I could share one about my family as well," Lisa said.

Alec had a feeling he knew what she was going to reveal and motioned for her to continue.

"My father- well he isn't exactly the perfect citizen, I guess you could say. He's always been into questionable things and only recently did I find out more." She took a deep breath and continued. "As you saw, I have a really nice house and everything is, well, expensive and fancy. I still don't even know the full details, other than the fact that he often handles money. He really is a great father and all, but some things that he does are not exactly legal."

"Okay, that's not so bad," Josh stated. "He hasn't done something like kill anyone has he?"

"No, no, of course not," Lisa stated adamantly. "He knew I would figure out sooner or later so he told me some things and he assured me that he's never done something as terrible as that."

Lisa looked over at Alec, trying to gage his reaction. "You don't seem surprised."

The boy smiled ever so slightly. "I'm not," he stated bluntly. "Your father is the reason I met Severus in the first place."

"What?" the two other Ravenclaws exclaimed at once.

"Well, it started when my uncle accidentally swapped briefcases with your father, or someone he works with. In the briefcase was a lot of money and, my uncle was very greedy, so he kept it."

"And this took a turn for the worse, I assume?" Lisa guessed.

Alec nodded. "My cousin and I were kidnapped from the park and later we found out my aunt was as well." Lisa gasped and Josh wore a shocked expression on his face. "Yeah, but it really wasn't too bad. There was this one guy, who was really mean but your dad, he was actually really nice to me."

Lisa smiled faintly.

"He saw how my relatives treated me and wanted to do something for me but then Severus came along. My uncle had made the deal to return the money for his family back and the swap was at his house. Things didn't go so well and Severus had to step in. He obliviated your father and the people he was with, since he did use magic in front of them."

"_That'__s_ why my father doesn't remember you. He always figured something was up here because he was sure he knew you from somewhere but he couldn't remember where," Lisa exclaimed.

"Wow, things just get more and more interesting around the two of you," Josh commented with a grin.

"Well then, do you have anything you want to share with us?" Lisa asked with her hands on her hips.

"Yeah," Josh replied seriously. He made a show of taking a deep breath, as if he too were revealing a big secret. "I stole some sugar quills from your desk."

It was silent before Alec let out a laugh. "Wow that was pretty serious. If you wanted some, all you had to do was ask."

"Ahh, but then I wouldn't have a big secret to tell," Josh joked.

Lisa playfully scowled at them before sighing and tossing her hands in the air. "What am I going to do with you guys?" she huffed.

The other two just laughed. It was good to have secrets off their chest and still remain friends.

* * *

A/N: Well what did you think of this chapter? I really didn't like it but no matter how hard I tired, it wouldn't come out the way I wanted it. Thanks for all the title suggestions! I hate coming up with titles and all your suggestions helped me come up with something. Thanks for all the reviews as well and please continue to do so! 


	3. Chapter 3

Early one August morning, Alec was sitting on his bed flipping through a Quidditch magazine when he heard slamming sounds all throughout the house. It sounded as if all the doors in the house were suddenly slammed shut, along with the windows. His door and window were no exception but it was still a shock to suddenly have his bedroom door and window slam closed on their own.

He jumped from the bed and pulled out his wand, wondering just what was going on. He tried opening his door, and unsurprisingly, it was locked. He was thinking about using his wand to open it when their house elf Binky popped in his room.

"Master Snape is telling Binky to tell young Master Snape that he must stay in his room. Yous must stay here til Master Snape comes for yous."

"Why?" Alec demanded. "What's going on?"

"Binky is not permitted to say," the elf replied. "Master Snape says he will tell yous what yous need to know when he arrives."

Before Alec could say anything else, the elf popped away. The boy scowled and threw himself down on the bed. He hated being stuck in here without knowing what was going on.

After a while, Alec stood and started pacing the room. He couldn't hear anything going on downstairs, nor could he see anything outside so that reassured him that the manor wasn't being attacked. But that still left a million other questions swarming around his mind as he tried to figure out what could have caused this sudden lockdown.

It was almost an hour after he'd first been locked in his room when his door finally opened. He turned towards his father, reading to start demanding answers but stopped. Severus looked exhausted.

"What happened?" Alec asked, calming down slightly.

"I sealed the manor," Severus replied shortly.

"Why…?" Alec prompted.

"Come, I shall explain." Severus led the way downstairs and summoned Binky for some tea. They both sat down in the seating room and sipped their tea. Alec waited for his father to being.

"I sealed the manor primarily because I needed to strengthen the wards. I also ensured that no person or creature was around here other than the two of us, Binky, and our familiars."

"Why'd you need to strengthen the wards right now? So suddenly and all?" Alec questioned.

Severus signed and reached over to the end table next to him. He picked up the Daily Prophet and handed it over to his adopted son.

Alec grasped the paper and looked on the front page. In big headlines, it read:

**_AZKABAN BREAKOUT!_**

He skimmed the article and discovered that the two people in the picture were Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange. His eyes widened as he read about the crimes they'd committed. Alec turned his wide eyes up to his father and returned the paper.

"So you did all this because they escaped? Do you think they are going to come here? Why would they even come here?" Alec demanded.

"I cannot explain everything to you; you are too young."

"I'm thirteen! That's not young!"

"You are twelve. You are merely masquerading as a thirteen-year-old."

"So what! It's practically the same. Why can't you explain further on this? Why would those Death Eaters be coming after us?"

"No, I will not explain any further," Severus said sternly. "For the duration of the summer you will be restricted to the manor and you are not permitted to go outside-"

"What?! I can't go outside to fly?"

"No. Absolutely not. I will not risk your life by allowing you to fly when you could be attacked."

"This is so not fair!" Alec shouted. "I feel like I'm being caged in my own home like some prisoner!"

"It is for your own safety!" Severus shouted, finally losing his temper.

Alec stared at his father's angry gaze. He was too frustrated to care that he was acting like a little kid right now. He jumped to his feet, not wanting to hear anymore, and ran to his room, slamming the door closed.

* * *

About a week before school started, Severus allowed Alec to make a trip to Diagon Alley for his school supplies. He was originally going to pick up all the necessary items himself, but decided that the boy should have a chance to get outside. Visiting Diagon Alley was certainly going to be a quick, no-nonsense, trip in order to get the supplies then go back home under the safety of their wards. 

Severus arrived through the Floo in the Leaky Cauldron before Alec, to ensure no threats were around. He was very paranoid about the whole trip but allowed Alec to come anyways. A few moments later, Alec tumbled ungracefully from the floo as well. He quickly stood and dusted off his robes. Severus led the way to the brick wall, where he tapped the appropriate bricks, and entered into Diagon Alley.

Alec followed Severus silently. He was still angry that his father wouldn't tell him things but he was glad the man had given into his begging to be allowed a visit to Diagon Alley before school started. There first stop was Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Severus stood there while his son was measured for new robes and tapped his foot impatiently.

Since both Alec and Severus needed food for their familiars, they stopped at the Magical Menagerie after Alec received his new robes. Severus picked up food for his cat Asp while Alec picked up snake treats for his snake.

Their next stop was Flourish and Blotts, which Alec tried to get away from his overbearing father, but had no success. Severus wouldn't let him out of site in the large bookstore and it annoyed Alec endlessly. They stopped by a few other shops before Severus decided that it was time for them to leave. He had spotted Lucius Malfoy and his son in the alley and decided now would be the best time to leave. Lucius was likely to be angry about the duel they had last year and try to extract revenge. That man was known for holding onto grudges until he felt satisfied with his vengeance.

Alec was almost glad when they flooed home since it meant he'd finally get away from his father. The entire trip wasn't very fun at all with Severus following his every step, making sure the Azkaban escapees didn't pop out and get them. The boy went upstairs to his room to put his new items away and gave his snake a few of the treats he'd picked up. The treats were mouse shaped and supposedly tasted like mice, which his familiar would surely enjoy.

The young boy stayed in his room for most of the afternoon, rearranging items in his trunk to pass the time. He couldn't wait until it was September 1st, when he'd get to go back to school. He'd finally get some freedom from his father, but then again, who knows. Perhaps his dad will start escorting him to classes or something? Alec snorted at the though. He'd hate that if it happened, but his dad wouldn't get that protective, would he? The boy really hoped it wouldn't come down to that.

After he finished organizing his school items, he pulled out a book and started reading. Since there wasn't much else to do while trapped in his own home, he figured he might as well get a head start on reading for the next school year.

* * *

Finally, September 1st rolled around and Alec couldn't have been any happier about it. He'd already read the first few chapters in every school book, including History of Magic, which had been very dull. When he was bored of reading, he cleaned his room. When he cleaned his room to the point it was practically shining, he tried to think up new Quidditch moves. When he ran out of ideas for that, he tried drawing. He tried just about anything and everything to pass the time. It was torture when he looked at the shining sun outside and couldn't go out there. He wanted to fly so badly, but that had been restricted. Severus even took his broom away so he wouldn't be tempted to sneak out and fly for a bit. Alec was glad when he got it back before school started again. 

The two Snape's entered Platform Nine and Three Quarters and immediately noticed the security around them. There were several aurors stationed in order to protect the people in the event they were attacked by the two escapees. The only reason was able to Alec persuade his father to let him ride the train, rather than taking a portkey directly to the school, was because of the increased security. There would be two aurors riding the train with the students in the unlikely event that they were attacked.

Severus aided Alec in loading his trunk onto the train before saying his goodbye. The boy then found an empty compartment and waited for his two friends to arrive. It wasn't long before both of them arrived.

"Hey guys," Alec greeted. "How was your summer?"

"Pretty good," Lisa replied.

"Mine was okay," Josh said. "Did you guys hear about the breakout from Azkaban?"

The other two nodded their heads.

"Yeah, my dad wouldn't let me do anything," Alec complained. "I couldn't go outside to fly or to even just sit out there. He barely let me even pick up my supplies from Diagon Alley."

"Why is he so worried? Surely they wouldn't come after you guys?" Lisa inquired.

"Well, he seems to think they will. I tried to find out why those two death eaters would come after us, but he refused to say anything, claiming I was too young."

Lisa frowned. "What are death eaters?"

"They are followers of You-Know-Who," Josh replied.

"Oh," Lisa said. She looked around and leaned forward to whisper, "It's not like they know _who_ you _really_ are, right?"

Alec shook his head. "No one knows about that. I think it has something to do with his past, but I don't know for sure."

"Hm, maybe he was actively against them?" Lisa surmised. "I read about how You-Know-Who used to attack families that fought against him."

"That could be it, but-" before Alec could finish his statement, the train lurched to a sudden stop. The three students were immediately on alert. They couldn't possibly have been to Hogwarts already since they left the station less than an hour ago.

"What's going on?" Lisa asked worriedly.

"I don't know," Alec replied. He stood, wand in hand, and poked his face out of the compartment door. He looked up and down the aisle and saw that other students were also looking out to see what was going on.

He couldn't see the two aurors anywhere, which greatly worried him. Alec closed the door and sat back down.

"I don't know what is going on. Keep your wands out in case we are attacked. I don't know where those aurors are."

"What aurors?" Josh asked.

"There were a few aurors at the train station and two of them were supposed to accompany us to ensure that we arrived safely in the event that we were attacked. That was the only reason my dad let me ride the train at all," Alec explained.

A sudden coldness came across the three students and they gasped. The compartment door opened slowly and a tall, dark, creature hovered in the doorway. Alec's head swam as he stared at the creature. He felt as if he'd never be happy again. He started remembering all the terrible things he'd experienced in his young life, starting with the Dursleys and ending with the terrible events of last year. Distantly, he heard a woman screaming, before all went dark.

* * *

A/N: I felt the need to leave a nice cliffy for you all! I'm sure you're all glad to hear that I've already started on the next chapter for this and I hope to have it out sooner than this last chapter was. Thanks everyone for all the reviews! I reeeally enjoy reading them! Coming up in the next chapter- Umbridge appears... 


	4. Chapter 4

Alec's eyes fluttered open and he slowly sat up and looked around. His two friends were staring at him with alarm and a young witch with bubblegum pink hair stood next to him.

"What happened?" he asked. He pulled his cloak tighter in hopes of stopping the shivers. Even though the creatures were gone, he still felt cold and tired. Alec hoped he'd never see those things again, but with his luck, he'd run into them sooner or later.

"You passed out," Josh replied as he sat back in his seat.

"I did? Why? What were those things?"

"Dementors," The pink-haired woman replied. "They are guards of Azkaban and they were sent here to check the train for the Lestranges."

"What idiot had those _things_ check a train full of students for escaped prisoners?" Alec asked, astounded that someone would actually let those dreadful things near people, students none the less.

The woman snickered. "That would be Minister Fudge. He's not so bright, but don't tell anyone I said that otherwise, I'd lose my job."

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Lisa began. "But who are you?"

"Sorry 'bout that. I'm Tonks."

"Tonks? Is that your real first name or a nickname?" Josh wondered as he stared at the young woman across from him.

"It's actually my last name but I really hate my first name so I go by Tonks," she explained.

"So what's your first name then?" Josh pressed on.

"Nope. Not gonna say." Tonks wiggled her finger at the boy. "Um, so how are you guys feeling?"

Lisa shrugged her shoulders. "I feel okay. I didn't think I'd ever be happy again though when that Dementor was in here."

"I'm fine now," Josh said. "I'm just glad those Dementors are gone."

The others turned to Alec. He smiled weakly at them.

"I'm a little tired," he admitted. He hated admitting weaknesses but they were his friends so they deserved to know if he wasn't feeling all that great.

"Oh! I almost forgot." Tonks fished through a pocket and pulled out a few chocolate frogs. "Here, eat these. They'll help you feel better."

"Chocolate?" Lisa questioned skeptically. "Does it _really_ help? Or are you just messing with us?"

"It really helps," the young auror said. "Trust me on that one." She smiled as the young teens bit into the chocolate candies. Their complexions brightened noticeably as the paleness faded away.

Alec bit into the frog and immediately felt the warmth spread. He quickly finished it off before saying to Tonks, "Thank you. For getting rid of the Dementor and for the chocolate. It really did help."

Tonks stayed only for a few more minutes before she left their compartment. She went to hand out more chocolate frogs to those who needed it.

"I wish there was something we could do that would send the Dementors away," Lisa commented.

"What do you mean?" Alec asked. "Did Tonks cast something at it to scare it off?"

"Yeah," Josh replied. "It was a bright white light. You didn't see it?"

Alec shook his head. "Of course I didn't. I was too busy kissing the carpet," he muttered sarcastically.

His friend winced. "Sorry, I-"

Their compartment door opened and it wasn't Tonks coming back. It was Draco Malfoy and his two large followers.

"What's this I hear Snape? Did you really pass out when the Dementors came?" Malfoy teased.

Alec reddened and got to his feet. "Shut up Malfoy!"

"How's your daddy doing Malfoy?" Josh asked snidely. "Is he still licking his wounds from when Professor Snape kicked his arse?"

It was Draco's turn to redden. Just as he was pulling out his wand, Tonks came back by.

"What's going on here?" she asked. "Don't even think about pulling that wand out," she snapped and Draco reluctantly lowered his hand.

"Now, go back to your compartment before you end up with detention before school even started."

Malfoy scowled and left muttering angrily. His two goons followed after.

"Alright in here? Now that he's gone, I mean," Tonks asked.

Lisa nodded. "Thanks for scaring him off before things got worse."

"No problem. I've got to finish up now so make sure to stay out of trouble," Tonks advised before leaving.

The rest of the train ride went rather slow. But, before they knew it, they had arrived at the train station. After the short ride up to the castle, the three Ravenclaws set off to their table. Before they could reach the table, a hand grasped Alec's shoulder. He turned and saw the worried face belonging to his father. Severus motioned for Alec to follow and the boy waved his friends on as he followed the man.

"What happened on the train?" Severus demanded as he looked the boy over.

"Well, some Dementors-"

"Dementors?!" Severus swore angrily. "What imbecile let those foul beings near a train full of students?"

"That's exactly what I said," Alec smirked. "Anyway, Tonks said that it was Fudge who let them search the train for those two escaped convicts."

The man nodded. "Will you finish explaining what happened?"

"As I was saying, the train stopped and some Dementors came on. They searched the train. It was terrible when they came in our compartment." Alec shuddered and Severus put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I felt like I'd never be happy again and I remembered tons of bad stuff."

Severus grimaced at his son's bad word choice and at the fact his son was exposed to those creatures.

"I know. They are terrible beings. That idiotic minister," Severus swore under his breath again. How could that incompetent fool let Dementors near a train of students, none who are likely to even know the Patronus charm?

"I want you to be careful this year," Severus said softly. "Who knows what else-"

"Hem, hem."

Severus stepped away from his son, but kept a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Good evening Madam Umbridge," Severus ground out politely.

"Professor Snape," she greeted with a sickly smile. "Who might this be?"

Alec looked up and met the stare of the woman before him. She wore a disgusting pink outfit looked terrible with her short, toad-like appearance. Alec turned away to hide his grimace.

"This is my son, Alec Snape. He is in his third year."

"Slytherin?" She asked.

The boy turned back to her so she could fully see his robe crest. "Ravenclaw, actually," he corrected politely. He really didn't want to stay and Severus could easily see that the boy wanted to leave.

"The feast will start momentarily," Severus said before the woman could question either any further. "You should get back into the hall and sit with your friends."

"Yes, sir," Alec replied. He left as quickly as he could without looking like he was trying to get away from the pink toad-lady. She gave him the creeps and he wasn't looking forward to having her as a professor this year. That made him wonder how the class itself would be with her teaching.

Alec found his two friends and sat in the empty space that was saved for him. Before he could tell them about the new defense professor, Professor McGonagall led the new first years in. The hat sang a song, as usual, before sorting all the children. Alec clapped for all the new first years that were sorted in Ravenclaw.

The Headmaster made a few start of the term notices before he finally introduced the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. The students clapped politely for her when she stood.

The Headmaster continued with his announcements. "Mister Filch has posted the list of restricted items-"

"Hem, hem."

The older wizard paused and turned towards her. He motioned for her to go ahead and speak.

Alec listened for the first ten seconds or so, before he decided to tune her out. She stood up there and droned on and on about the Ministry and how she's trying to help the school. Finally, the woman sat down and Alec signed in relief. He had a headache and was not in the mood to listen to her ramble on and on.

The feast finally ended and Alec followed his two friends back to the common room. By now, he full and sleepy. The moment his head hit his pillow, he was asleep.

* * *

Alec yawned as both he and Josh stumbled tiredly from their dormitory the next morning. Lisa joined up with them as they trekked down to the Ravenclaw table in the Great Hall.

"What class do we have first?" Josh mumbled though a mouthful of food.

"That's disgusting," Lisa commented. "And we haven't even received our schedule yet."

"Oops, sorry," he said.

"Do you think Defense will be any better than the last two years?" Lisa asked. "Not counting Professor Lupin from the end of last year though."

"No," Alec replied. "I have a feeling that it won't be any better with her," he motioned to the toad woman in pink at the staff table, "teaching us since she is part of the Ministry. My dad says that we should be careful around her."

"Why?" Josh asked.

"Well she works for the Ministry, so there's a reason right there. She's probably buddies with Minister Fudge too," Alec said.

"Here are your schedules," their Head of House said. The short professor handed the three of them their schedules. Alec groaned immediately upon seeing their first class.

"Defense class first thing. That should be fun," he muttered.

Lisa grimaced. "We should leave now then so we can make it on time." The two boys nodded and stood up. They stopped by to pick up their books before reaching the classroom. Most of the class was waiting outside for Professor Umbridge to open the door.

She finally appeared and motioned for them to enter. "Good morning class," she greeted with her sickly smile.

A few students mumbled a good morning back.

She frowned. "No, no that will not do. I would like a clear greeting from _all_ of you. Let's try this again. Good morning class."

"Good morning Professor Umbridge," the class replied together.

She waved her wand and the books were passed out to everyone. Alec clenched his fist tightly as the woman began her speech. There was nothing in her speech about actually _learning_ the spells. He knew she was going to be a bad teacher.

Umbridge wasn't finished yet and what she said next mad Alec's blood boil. "I cannot believe that the Headmaster allowed a filthy half-breed _werewolf_," she spat the word with distaste, "to teach here last year. That is such a disgrace!

"And to have other _questionable,"_ she looked directly at Alec," staff members too. I intend to raise the standards back up where they should've been in the first place."

Alec stared defiantly back at the woman. He wasn't too sure what she was talking about, but he knew she was referring to his father. It seemed like she might have a grudge against the man, but why was the main question that he wanted to figure out. He might be able to ask his father, but he wasn't too sure what the man would say, if he would say anything at all.

"Now, I want you all to take your books and turn to chapter one. You are to begin reading immediately," she instructed. "You are also to take notes on it and I expect you will do it well. There will be a quiz on chapter one next class. Begin."

Alec flipped the book open and stared at the first page. It was dull and he could tell already that the rest of the book would be just as boring. It seems he was in for another long year.

* * *

A/N: Well, despite the fact that I had the first page or so written, it still took me forever to get this out! Nothing was flowing for me and Umbridge was hard to write. I coudn't even come up with a suitable speech for her so I settled for only mentioning a few parts of it. Anyway, at least it is finally out. Thank you all very much for reviewing! It's good to hear that you guys enjoy this story more than I have lately. Its' just been a pain to write. So please keep up the reviewing and I will try to post a new chapter as soon as I can! :)


	5. Chapter 5

Alec shrugged off his Quidditch gear quickly during one brisk October evening. Practice had ended pretty late that evening and he still needed to stop by the library before curfew. He grabbed his bag on his way out and jogged from the Quidditch pitch to the castle entrance.

After checking out the two books he needed for a homework assignment, he began his trek back to the tower. Just before reaching the entrance, the books in his arm slipped and skidded across the floor. He picked up the nearest one and just as he reached for the last book, a pair of shoes stepped into his line of sight. Judging by the fact they were pink, he knew it was his least favorite professor standing in front of him. He gathered the books and straightened up.

"Evening Madam Umbridge," Alec stated. "If you'll excuse me, I'm heading to my dorm to finish up my essays."

She shook her head negatively. "I'm afraid that will not do, Mr. Snape. You are out of your dormitory when you shouldn't be. Detention tomorrow evening at seven."

Alec nodded his head miserably before heading the last few steps to the Ravenclaw tower entrance.

"Where've you been?" Josh asked as Alec dropped his books onto the table next to his friend.

"Quidditch practice ran late then I had to stop by the library," Alec said as he slumped down tiredly into an empty seat. "Then I got detention from Umbridge for being out after curfew. I was five feet away from the common room! And it was only a couple of minutes anyway," Alec muttered angrily.

"Ouch, that sucks," Josh said. "When do you serve it?"

"Tomorrow night after dinner. I'll bet my dad won't be pleased when I tell him I can't make it," Alec replied.

"Make it to what?" Lisa asked as she came and sat down with them.

"My dad was going to help me with the transformation some more tomorrow after dinner. I was going to tell you guys so you could come too, but those plans have to be cancelled now."

"Why? What did I miss?" Lisa wondered.

"Alec's got detention with Umbridge tomorrow," Josh answered for the other boy.

Lisa winced. "Did you happen to get that book for our essay?" she asked.

The dark-haired boy nodded. "Yeah, I stopped by the library right after Quidditch practice. Do you want to use it first, while I work on my potions essay?"

Lisa nodded and soon the three Ravenclaws were busy working away.

* * *

Alec doodled on his paper the next day during Defense Against the Dark Arts class. They had been assigned to read the chapter and summarize it. He'd already done that and was bored in the mean time.

Their professor had received an owl in the middle of class and left the students in the classroom while she went into her office. The moment she was gone, students started whispering about the article that came out in the Daily Prophet.

"Hey Malfoy," one of the Ravenclaws called out.

The blond boy looked at him and sneered. "What?"

"Is it true your father helped your aunt escape from Azkaban?" the boy asked bravely. The entire class went silent, waiting to hear the answer. This morning's Daily Prophet had more information about how the prisoners had escaped and the evidence pointed to an outsider helping them. It was supposedly a ministry employee, with blond hair, as a witness stated. Since the witness was a prisoner, the case against Malfoy, or whoever helped them, wasn't very strong. Mostly it was just rumors floating around and the Daily Prophet chose to report it.

"Hem, hem," Professor Umbridge interrupted as she came back into the classroom. "Since you are so eager to talk during class, you will now have an extra foot to write on this chapter. As for what the prophet reported, do not believe such lies. Mr. Malfoy is an outstanding citizen who should not be facing such slander."

Alec snorted softly.

"Do you have something to add, Mr. Snape?" she asked, turning her attention to the third year.

Alec's mind screamed for him to keep his mouth shut, but he ignored it. "Yeah, I do actually. Mr. Malfoy is _not_ an outstanding citizen. Last year he poisoned my father! How is _that_ for outstanding??"

Umbridge tutted. "Mr. Snape, you will keep such opinions against a fine, respected man to yourself. You have just earned yourself another night's detention."

Alec kept his mouth shut and glared angrily at his desk. _Great,_ he thought, _another detention._

* * *

"Enter," Umbridge called out after Alec knocked on her office that evening for detention. He has just told his father about cancelling their plans for the evening and Severus wasn't too happy to hear his son received a detention from Umbridge, especially after he warned the boy to be careful around her.

"Take a seat," Umbridge stated. Alec dropped his book bag onto the floor and stared at the quill and parchment that was placed in front of him.

"You are going to write lines," she said.

Alec stared at her incredulously. _Write lines?_ It seemed so simple, but he knew there had to be a catch somewhere.

"Write 'I will not tell lies' until the message _sinks_ in."

Alec picked up the quill. "You haven't given me any ink," he pointed out.

"You won't need any. Begin writing," the toad-like woman instructed.

He grabbed the quill and scratched 'I will not tell lies' onto the parchment. A moment later, a searing pain flashed briefly across his right hand. He looked down at it and could see the words he just wrote on the parchment scratched into his hand. It wasn't deep, but he could feel exactly where the words had been etched. The pink scratch faded until he couldn't really see it any further. He assumed that it wouldn't be long before the mark remained.

Alec gritted his teeth as he wrote line after line of the same words. He was startled when the defense professor began speaking.

"Mr. Snape, I don't know what provoked you to tell such lies this morning. Clearly your father hasn't been doing a good job raising you when he tells you these dreadful lies."

"They are _not_ lies," Alec hissed.

"Silence," she snapped. "Continue writing."

The boy glared at the quill as he continued writing in his own blood. His hand had finally split open and wouldn't likely heal until tomorrow.

"What do you know about your father?" She asked curiously, with a sickening smile.

Alec stared at her with confusion. "I know a lot about my father," he said cautiously. He wasn't too sure where she was going with all of this.

"Do you know of his past, and potentially current, _loyalties_?"

The boy frowned_. What loyalties?_

"Judging by your face, you do not know." She paused dramatically. "Your father was a _death eater_," she stated matter-of-factly.

Alec's eyes widened before he shook his head furiously. She was probably just saying all this to confuse him.

She tutted again. "Keep writing, Mr. Snape. I can tell you don't believe me. Have you ever seen his bare arms, particularly the left one?"

The dark-haired boy thought for a minute and could only think of one incident when his father didn't wear a long sleeve shirt-- when they were at the beach. Alec didn't remember seeing anything on his father's arm, although if he thought hard enough, he recalled seeing a very faint tattoo. It wasn't obvious and appeared to have faded, which was the reason he hadn't thought more on it. But what if this was _the dark mark_? The mark that people who served Voldemort wore. Alec frowned in thought and wished he had a headache reliever since it hurt to think on all this.

"Let me see your hand," the toad-like woman commanded. Alec held out his hand, which was bleeding slightly. "Hm, it seems you will have to continue writing lines tomorrow evening. Be here at seven." She then dismissed him and Alec gladly left as quickly as he could get out of there.

He stopped at a bathroom and rinsed his hand thoroughly. The skin was red and had stopped bleeding. With detention tomorrow, his hand wouldn't have much time to heal. He was just about to leave, when he heard voices outside the corridor. Thinking it was Filch, he stayed put so the caretaker wouldn't try and assign him a detention for being out after curfew.

"I am very concerned Headmaster," the strong voice of Alec's father came from the hallway. Alec peeked out the door and saw his father talking to the Headmaster.

"Over what, Severus?" the older wizard asked.

"That woman." It didn't take a genius to tell that Severus was referring to Umbridge. "I believe she is plotting a way to receive more control over Hogwarts."

Headmaster Dumbledore sighed wearily. "I too fear that she is trying something such as that. There is not much that I can do at the moment. The Ministry refuses to cooperate with me. Were there any other matters you wished to discuss? I'm sure you have students to check on and I myself have paperwork to go through."

The Potions Professor leaned closer to the Headmaster and Alec held his breath to hear what his father was about to say.

"_It_ has been getting darker," Severus said quietly. He grasped his left arm for a second before releasing it.

The Headmaster grimaced. "I do not believe this is the place to discuss that. Perhaps it would be best if you came to my office tomorrow afternoon."

The younger man nodded sharply before turning away, his cloak billowing behind him as he stalked down the corridor.

Ale waited until both men had disappeared before exiting the bathroom. He certainly had a lot more on his mind now. His father had practically proved that what Umbridge said was true. He was really confused now.

Walking quickly, Alec made it back to the Ravenclaw tower without being seen by Filch. Just as he was about to say the password, his father stepped out of the shadows.

"Alec," he greeted. "How was your detention?" he asked after taking in his son's pale face.

The boy shrugged. "Fine."

Severus frowned. "Are you available tomorrow for a lesson?"

Alec shook his head. "No, sorry."

"Another detention?"

The boy grimaced. "Unfortunately. Look, I have some assignments to finish so I need to go inside now."

Severus studied his son more carefully. "Go ahead. Finish up your assignments. Good night," he added as Alec disappeared into the common room. His son seemed a bit off, like he was giving him the cold shoulder. Severus couldn't figure out why, but he would soon.

Alec sighed as he sat down on his bed. He couldn't handle talking to his father right now. He was just so confused and didn't know what to think anymore. _Could his father really be a death eater?_

* * *

A/N: Yay another chapter is out! Hope you all enjoyed it. Thanks again for all the reviews! I love reading them and they really inspire me to keep writing this!

_Accio reviews!_ :-)


	6. Chapter 6

"And they are off!" Lee Jordan announced from the stands. He was once again commenting for the Quidditch match. It was Ravenclaw verses Slytherin.

"Ravenclaw is first to get the Quaffle. Melany passes to Bentley as they near the goal. Bentley looks like he is about to shoot but drops the Quaffle to Watson who is flying below and she catches. She shoots and scores!! Ravenclaw 10, Slytherin 0!" Lee Jordan broadcasted to the roaring crowd.

"Slytherin is now in possession of the Quaffle. Ravenclaw beater Thompson smacks the bludger at the Slytherin who drops the Quaffle to avoid being hit.

"Bentley catches the Quaffle and shoots but the hoops are saved by the Slytherin keeper. Slytherin is once again in possession."

Alec circled the field in search of the golden snitch. Draco Malfoy, the Slytherin seeker, was trailing after him rather than looking for the snitch on his own.

The Ravenclaw jerked his head suddenly to the side and swopped down in a dive. Malfoy followed immediately, assuming the other boy had seen the snitch. Alec came closer and closer to the ground, with the other boy still trailing him.

At the last moment, he pulled up sharply and turned his head back to see if Malfoy had crashed. Unfortunately, the blond seeker had managed to pull up before hitting the ground.

The crowd was cheering loudly in the background. Alec smirked at Malfoy before flying off.

"Ravenclaw is now in possession of the Quaffle! Bentley shoots – and misses! Slytherins managed to stop that goal. Keeper passes to Flint, who speeds over to the Ravenclaw goals!

"Beater Thompson whacks a bludger at the Slytherin captain—and it just missed. Slytherins beater hits it back at Thompson—ooh that had to hurt. Thompson shakes it off and flies down to retrieve his bat, which he'd dropped after taking that bludger to the arm.

"Look! Ravenclaw seeker has dived again! This time he doesn't look like he's faking it.

"Malfoy is right behind him! They both have their arms stretched out—its close! Who's going to catch the golden snitch?

"Snape is in the lead… I think he's going to get it. Wait—they've pulled up now!

"The snitch is flying away but will they get it first? Snape leans forward and stretches out—Malfoy doing the same—and look! Alec Snape has the golden snitch! Ravenclaw wins!!"

The Ravenclaws cheered loudly as their seeker flew down with the snitch in hand. Alec landed with a huge grin on his face. Malfoy landed next to him and sneered.

"Doesn't matter if you won, your father is still a filthy traitorous bastard," Malfoy spat.

Alec felt a sudden rush of intense anger. It was more violent and sudden than anything he'd ever felt before. The excitement of winning a Quidditch game was over and he no longer left thrilled. Instead he practically saw red as the blond boy once again insulted his father.

Dropping the snitch on the ground, he balled up his fist and swung.

The sudden rush of anger left him as he stared down at the blond Slytherin sitting on the ground. A red ring, which would surely bruise soon, was quickly appearing around the boy's eye.

Alec stared at the boy, shocked by his sudden anger and reaction to one comment. Before he could contemplate his rash actions, his _favorite_ professor appeared.

"Mr. Snape!" Umbridge shrieked. "How dare you strike a fellow student! You will be banned from playing Quidditch-"

"Actually," Headmaster Dumbledore interrupted as he arrived, "Mr. Snape will not be banned from Quidditch. You do not have the authority to state that. However, he is still going to be punished for his actions."

"Fine," the woman huffed. She turned back to Alec, "You will serve detention with me for the next two weeks, _every_ night at eight o'clock." Alec felt his face pale and Umbridge looked smug. "Starting _tonight_."

The young Snape glared angrily at the ground as the woman walked away. His hand shot out and he caught the snitch that was hovering just above the ground. He handed it to Madam Hooch as she approached before walking off the Quidditch pitch with his friends.

"I can't believe you just punched Malfoy!" Josh said, almost admirably.

Alec shrugged and massaged his temples. His head was throbbing. "I reacted. I didn't mean to punch him, it just happened."

"Mr. Snape," said the stern voice belonging to his father.

Alec groaned and turned towards his father. "What?"

"Please accompany me to my office," he stated and began walking

Severus closed his office door with a slam and rounded on his son. Alec was leaning against the wall with a scowl on his face.

"Can we hurry this up? I'd like to get to the party," Alec muttered somewhat defiantly.

Severus looked at his son carefully. The boy looked as if he hadn't been sleeping to well recently and he'd never been particularly snappy with him as he just was now.

"What has been bothering you lately? You have been avoiding me and behaving this way," he said, motioning at Alec, who was slouching on the wall, practically glaring at him.

"I dunno," Alec snapped. "Just yell at me or whatever so I can go."

"I am disappointed that you assaulted Mr. Malfoy, however, I would like to hear your reasoning first."

Alec stayed quiet. He had no intentions of telling his father that Malfoy's stupid little comment caused one rash action which earned him detention for two weeks.

Severus sighed. "Fine. Just go. I will not talk to you in this state. When you have calmed down and learned to be more respective, come talk to me."

Alec turned and left without a word. He paused on his trek back to the dorms to massage his throbbing temples. If he wasn't feeling so frustrated, he would have asked his father for a headache relieving draught. Even though he felt rather tired, he wouldn't be able to rest anytime soon with the celebrating that was going on in the common room. Plus, he still had detention later that night.

As Alec muttered the password and entered the common room, he was greeted with a loud cheer. Ravenclaw rarely had victories over Slytherin, but since Alec joined the team, they were grateful to finally have a real good chance against the other teams.

After several minutes of traveling through the crowd, he found his two friends sitting on a sofa. He plopped down next to them with a tired sigh and closed his eyes.

"Tired?" Lisa asked.

"Yeah. Didn't sleep all that well last night. And I probably won't tonight either," Alec added.

Lisa frowned. "Why?"

"I've got detention with Umbridge tonight and who knows how long she'll decide to keep me there."

"What does she have you doing in detention?" Lisa asked.

Alec shrugged and looked away. "Nothing. Just lines," he mumbled.

Lisa looked like she wanted to press him for more information but Alec just shook his head and stood. "I'm going to get something to drink," he muttered before walking away.

The two on the couch watched their friend in concern. Alec didn't look like he'd been doing too well lately. Something had been bothering him but the boy had refused to talk about it. They had a feeling it had something to do with those detentions, but without Alec talking, they couldn't determine what was wrong. They were determined to find out sooner or later though.

* * *

Alec headed to his detention later that night with a reluctant sigh. He wasn't looking forward to hearing what that woman had to say. Luckily, Alec had been able to steer clear of her since his first few detentions but he wasn't able to avoid her now.

He knocked softly on the door and entered upon her command. She set him down and had him start writing lines, the same ones as usual. After so long of silence, she couldn't remain quiet anymore.

"You should have been banned from Quidditch," she began with a furious glare on her face. "But the Headmaster went and overruled me. That won't happen for much longer…"

As Alec wrote, he got a sinking sense of foreboding. The way she was ranting, it sounded as if she was preparing to take over the school. The Ministry wasn't happy with the Headmaster at the moment and she wanted more control over the school, and was likely to get it.

Alec continued to glare angrily at the vile quill in his hand as he carved into the back of his hand. With the next two weeks of detention, he'd surely end up with a permanent scar on his hand.

He considered asking his dad about something, but then he remembered her words about him being a Death Eater, plus the conversation Alec had overheard that one night.

He wished there was someone else he could talk to right now but couldn't think of anyone. With everything going on lately, he could feel himself breaking down slowly and it wasn't likely to be long before he truly had a breakdown. The end of the first semester with final exams certainly didn't aid his frustration any either.

Later that night when he was dismissed, he patched his hand up as much as a possible and pulled his sleeve down to hide it. He arrived at the common room and saw that his two friends were still awake and waiting for him.

"Hey," Alec greeted softly.

"How was detention?" Lisa asked, taking in the boy's pallor.

Alec shrugged. "Like usual. Do you guys want to go practice tonight?" he asked, changing the subject.

Both Lisa and Josh realized he'd changed the subject, but decided to let it go for now.

"Yeah, I'd like to since I haven't worked much lately," Josh said.

"Where are we going to do it? It's not like we can waltz down to the Room of Requirement in plain sight, unless you'd like more detentions for being out after hours," Lisa stated.

Alec rolled his eyes and dashed upstairs and came back down moments later with a familiar cloak in hand. "Remember this?"

Lisa blushed. "Oops, I'd forgotten you had that."

The three barely managed to squeeze under the cloak together. Josh had almost stepped on Mrs. Norris' tail as they passed, which would've surely busted them, but they managed to get to the Room of Requirement.

They had been practicing for a while when Lisa spotted Alec's bandage wrapped hand.

"What happened?" she asked, causing Josh to look over immediately. The other boy came over and held onto Alec's hand as he tried to pull it back.

"Nothing, it's nothing," Alec murmured. He tried to pull his hand back but Josh wouldn't let go.

Lisa reached forward and unraveled the bandage. Alec just let her, no longer fighting them. They were his friends and deserved to know anyway.

She gasped, as did Josh, once they'd seen his hand. The hand was very red and the wound was still bleeding slightly. The two others could still easily make out the words, _I must not tell lies._

"Why? Is _this_ what you've been doing in detentions?" Lisa demanded to know.

"Yeah," the young Snape admitted.

Josh frowned. "Has she been making you use a blood quill?"

"Yeah," the boy said again. "I wrote this the first time in detention and even though I haven't 'lied' to her about anything lately, she's still had me writing that."

"I'm almost certain those are illegal. Why haven't you told Professor Snape?" Josh asked.

Alec looked away and glared down at his hands. "I just haven't."

"Are you angry with your father for something?" Lisa inquired.

Alec remained stubbornly silent.

"Fine, at least we know about the detentions. I just want you to talk to us so you don't bottle it all up," Lisa added softly.

The dark-haired boy sighed. "I know. I'm just not ready to talk about it, okay?"

Lisa and Josh both nodded their understanding.

"I think we can't go much further with the transformation," Josh said.

The three students had been practicing their Animagus transformation as much as they could and had progressed pretty far. Each could easily change their arms and legs, but couldn't go much further. The only way to go on would be to attempt the complete transformation, which they were not permitted to attempt on their own.

"Yeah, I think so too," Lisa said excitedly. "We should wait until Christmas break and see if your dad or Sirius will help up finish the transformation."

"That sounds good," Alec said with a yawn. "I'm tired too so we should head back to the common room."

The three tired Ravenclaws left the Room of Requirement, under the Invisibility Cloak, and made their way back to the common room, excited with the prospect of finally completing the transformation after many months of hard work.

* * *

A/N: I know this came out later than usual but things have been unbelievably hectic. There has been major flooding where I live, thankfully my home is fine, however a few people that I know have been affected. I finally managed to get this out and hopefully you all enjoyed it. I'll try to get the next chapter up soon, but no guarantees. Thanks again everyone, for your awesome reviews, and I'd love to recieve more! :)


	7. Chapter 7

The weeks until Christmas break passed quickly with the increasing school load and preparations for mid-term exams. In addition to all that, Alec still had detention with Umbridge for two weeks after his stunt on the Quidditch field. Draco Malfoy was an arse and deserved to get hit, but he would've preferred to not have done it in such a public space, especially since he suffered greatly for it. With two weeks of detention in a row, his hand was hardly healing. His friends constantly encouraged him to talk to an adult—his father primarily—but he was too stubborn to make up with the man.

Alec was still avoiding his father as much as possible, still unsure what to think about everything. He couldn't bring himself to come out and demand the truth from the man. With everything else on his mind, now was not the time to confront him over that matter.

Finals week came and went rather quickly, in Alec's opinion. He figured he did pretty well on most of them, as did Lisa and Josh. The three friends were each going home for the holidays but had plans to meet up and hopefully finish their transformation. They'd been practicing as much as they could in their spare time and with all of their progress, there wasn't much else left to do except attempt the full transformation.

The moment he got home, Alec went to his room. Severus sighed and retreated to his potions lab to think. He didn't know what had gotten into that boy, but he'd find out soon. He'd wait until the holidays were over, not to spoil them of course, and figure out exactly why the boy had been avoiding him for the past several months now.

His hand reached up to scratch his arm, but he quickly dropped it instead. For a while now, the mark had been getting darker and it had been pestering him with an odd itchy, tingly feeling. All the signs were pointing to the possible return of the Dark Lord. He didn't think he could keep up the loyal follower façade this time around, should the Dark Lord actually return.

He shook his head to clear it and concentrated on his work as he attempted to alter the Wolfsbane potion for Lupin. His last attempt at the potion had been during the summer and with classes to teach, he hadn't had time to make much progress. If Alec was going to sulk in his room all vacation, then surely he wouldn't be missed by the boy if he stayed in his lab and worked. It wasn't long before he completely immersed himself in his work and soon lost track of time.

* * *

Alec sat at the table in silence, picking at his food. He wasn't very hungry, but knew he had to eat something. He felt particularly frustrated at not seeing his father eating with him. He didn't know why it bothered him, but it did. With a sigh, he dropped his spoon on the plate and stood up. He went back into his room and concentrated on breathing slowly. Lately, he felt as if he'd been getting angry over the simplest of things and couldn't figure out why.

When breathing slowly didn't seem to help, Alec turned his attention to practicing the transformation more. He knew his friends planned to come over in a few days but he didn't want to wait anymore. He 

could feel the determination to complete the transformation growing and without regarding his safely, he focused on changing. Fueling his frustration in with his determination, he began to shift.

It was slow and awkward as he felt the rest of his body slowly alter into his Snow Leopard form. It wasn't painful—as he had previously thought—which relieved him. After a few seconds, he slowly opened his eyes and looked around. With his Leopard vision, sharper than his normal eyesight, he slowly took in his surroundings. Everything appeared larger, most likely due to his smaller size in animal form.

Alec took a step forward and stumbled. He wasn't quite used to walking like this just yet. He walked forward a few more steps and turned quickly when something caught his eye. He hissed --merely out of surprise-- at his reflection in a mirror. When his human mind assured him that it wasn't another animal, just his reflection after all, he allowed himself to relax.

Stepping closer to the mirror, he studied himself. He was quite shocked at the clean white fur. He'd originally expected gray fur, like he had read about, but then it dawned on him that it was winter right now. The Snow Leopard's fur changed to white during the winter to allow it a better form of blending into its surroundings. Perhaps when winter was over, he'd have gray fur? Alec was certainly interested in figuring that out. White fur just seemed the total opposite of him. His hair was black and yet his fur was pure white without a speck of black or gray markings on him.

He sauntered over to the mirror and stared into his eyes. Once again he saw something behind him and turned sharply, seeing nothing still. He'd just turned back to the mirror when he saw movement again. He curved backwards quickly and pounced on his prey. He let out a soft cry as his claws dug into his own tail. He released his 'prey' and watched his own tail swish back and forth. It would take some getting used to in his new form. It wasn't like he was accustomed to having a tail in human form after all.

Deciding he was ready for some more exploration, he leapt on the bed and landed with a soft thump, surprised at his graceful leap. Spotting an owl in the room, his instincts took over and he launched himself at the perch. The owl, who had previously been watching him cautiously, screeched and flew into the air. It landed on one of the posts belonging to the bed. The young leopard, still controlled by instincts, leapt again at his new prey, but had no success. Instead the white cub landed on the nightstand, knocking over the lamp, causing quite a ruckus.

* * *

Severus was torn from his potion when his house elf reminded him of the time. By the time he'd cleaned himself up somewhat and arrived for dinner, Alec was already gone. Glancing at the boy's plate, he could tell that Alec hadn't eaten much.

A muffled cry from upstairs had Severus setting his fork down and slowly getting to his feet. Merlin knew what that boy was up to in his room, but as a parent, he knew he had to check in on him to make sure everything was okay. He was only feet away from the boy's door when he heard the unmistakable sounds of a lamp crashing to the floor. Throwing open the door, he was not prepared for the sight he saw.

Alec –or what he assumed must have been his son—had succeeded in becoming an animagus. He hadn't had any doubts of course the Alec could do it, but he finally saw the boy had completed the change. As the boy looked over at him, Severus noticed the wild look in his eyes. Sighing with frustration, the Potions Master quickly changed into his own animagus form.

* * *

The white leopard stared at the man with confusion. Who was this? A faint stirring of recognition stirred in the animal, but it brushed that thought away. He was about to turn back to his prey when the man disappeared and a panther appeared. The young cub growled, warning the panther to stay away from his prey. It was his! He saw the bird first and was determined to catch it.

The panther growled warningly back, but the cub ignored it. This was his prey and he wasn't going to give it up without a fight. He stepped closer to the panther, not caring that it was larger than him. That didn't matter. All that matter was getting his food and not letting this other one steal it from him.

* * *

Severus, in panther form, stared at his son incredulously. How dare this cub challenge him? He wasn't here to take the boy's prey; he just wanted his son to get back into his right state of mind. The cub stepped closer, obviously picking a fight with the larger panther. Not wanting to hurt his son, Severus growled back and quickly swiped his paw in warning. The cub growled and came closer, but still just out of reach of his paws. Deciding to end this as quickly as possible, Severus pounced.

He slammed into the white leopard and knocked the young cub down. Using his paws, he managed to pin the furiously wiggling little creature down and used his mouth to grab him by the scruff of his neck. He picked up the small cub and held onto him as it struggled to get out of his grip. It wasn't long before the small inexperienced cub realized it wouldn't get out of the large panther's grip anytime soon. After a moment, the white cub went limp and let the panther hold him.

Severus decided it was safe to set the young animagus down. The cub tried to get to its feet, but Severus growled in warning and it remained there. The panther looked at the cub carefully and could still see a wild look faintly in the boy's eyes. As he waited for his son to regain his own self, he began to clean the cub up. He smoothed down the ruffled fur and it wasn't long before he could tell that his son was back in control.

He backed up and changed into his normal self. The cub lowered his head submissively as Severus scowled at him. The Potions Master took multiple deep breaths before he turned back to his son.

"Change back," he instructed sternly.

Some minutes later, a panting boy was sitting in front of him. The first transformation was always the most exhausting. Until the body got used to the drastic changes, the boy would definitely be tired after transforming.

"That was the most foolish, reckless, irresponsible, careless and idiotic thing for you to do," Severus snapped. He paused again to take a calming breath. "You are grounded until Christmas. You will tell your friends that they are not permitted to come over before your punishment is complete. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir," Alec replied.

"Good," the man turned and closed the door behind him. He placed his head against it and sighed.

"I'm sorry," Alec whispered.

Severus heard the apology and collected himself before retiring to his room for the evening. It was going to be a long winter break.

* * *

The days passed with agonizing slowness. Alec wasn't permitted to do much of anything while he was grounded. He spent most of his time reading his school books and finishing up any homework assignments that he had. He was especially forbidden from attempting to transform again, not that he really wanted to at the moment. While it was an exciting experience, he had no desire to lose himself again to the animal. Severus assured him the first transformation was the only time that could happen—and remain permanent—but it still scared him. If Severus hadn't been there to help him regain his own self, then he could have believed he really _was_ a Snow Leopard.

Before he knew it, Christmas had come and gone. He and Severus had exchanged gifts and his punishment had been lifted. Several days later, his friends were allowed to come over.

"I can't believe you did that," Lisa said for the second time. "That was awfully reckless of you."

"Don't," Alec snapped. "I've already heard it from my dad, okay? He's lectured me on it and I haven't been allowed to practice since then. Since you both are attempting to complete your transformations today, he's allowed me to practice as well."

"Sorry, I don't mean to nag you or anything," she apologized. "Would you show us first? Before we try?"

"I suppose," Alec relented. After a second or two of concentration, a white Snow Leopard stood before the other two Ravenclaws.

"You're beautiful," Lisa gasped.

Josh laughed. "I wouldn't say that, but I agree that the Snow Leopard suites you."

"Can I pet you?" the girl asked.

Alec stepped closer. The second transformation went much easier than the first, but it would still be quite some time before he was able to change as quickly as his father or Sirius.

"I can't believe that just last winter we were just starting the transformation. Now with the help of Sirius and your dad, we're going to finally finish the change. I think I'm ready to try. Is your dad around to supervise?" Josh asked.

Alec nodded, still in leopard form. He slipped through the open door and went in search of his father. He was found reading in his favorite chair.

Severus looked up when he spotted his son's animagus form. He raised an eyebrow. "I presume that means your friends are ready to attempt the transformation?"

The white cub lowered its head and nodded. Severus bookmarked his page and got to his feet. He walked through the doorway, pausing to pet the cub lightly on the head, before entering his son's room. The two Ravenclaws were eagerly awaiting him.

"Are you sure you are both ready?"

"Yes, sir," they both replied.

"If you feel the animalistic instincts taking over, remember to change back immediately."

They both nodded. Lisa stepped away from Josh and watched as he attempted the transformation. After several minutes, he was breathing hard and still attempting to change. With a sudden pop, a medium sized polar bear stood where Josh once was.

Josh practiced walking around for a few minutes before he was too tired to stand.

"Change back now," Severus instructed. The boy looked tired and must change back soon otherwise there could be some complications.

Slowly, Josh managed to change back into his human form, only he still had white fur on his arms.

"I will give you a pepper-up potion once you have fully changed back, Mr. Johnson. But you must remove all of your animagus form immediately."

After relaxing for a moment, Josh was able to summon enough energy to change back completely.

"Whew," he said after taking the pepper-up. "That was harder than I thought."

Lisa stared nervously at the exhausted boy before her. "I'm afraid I'll get stuck," she admitted.

"You'll be fine," Josh assured her. "It was hard because I was so excited last night, that I didn't sleep much. So I was a bit tired today as it was."

Alec walked up to her, still in his form, and rubbed against her leg to reassure her that it'll be alright.

"Okay, I'll see what I can do."

It wasn't long before Lisa too completed the transformation. She had a more difficult time than the two boys learning to move around because she needed to fly and the room was small. She'd be able to fly freely outside once she fully mastered the use of her wings.

Once Severus was no longer needed to supervise, he left. Once he was gone, Alec changed back to his normal form.

"Congrats guys, on completing the transformation!"

"Thanks," Josh replied. "I can't believe we did it! Wait till I show my parents."

"My parents will be quite shocked as well when they see it for themselves. They've heard about it of course but I'd love to see their reaction when I do it in front of them." Lisa stated. She turned her attention to Alec. "Are you two still not talking?"

Alec shrugged. "We had a good Christmas and all but I still haven't been talking with him much. He's frustrated with my stupid stunt and I'm frustrated with him over other stuff. It's complicated. I don't really want to talk about it either."

Lisa sighed. He never wanted to talk about whatever was going on between the two Snapes but she'd let him be for now.

Josh looked at his friend in concern as well. There wasn't much he could do, but at least he could change the subject to keep everyone happy.

"So who's up for exploding snap?"

* * *

A/N: Well, I'd say you guys are quite lucky this chapter made it out. Being a computer geek, I just had to mess with my computer and ended up having to resinstall my OS. Thanks to an excellent backup program, I was able to restore my important data, including my stories and notes for this. Hopefully you all enjoyed this chapter--I certainly had fun writing Alec's animgus scene. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews and please feel free to keep them up! They encourage me to write you know, and you all do want another chapter soon, yes? :-)


	8. Chapter 8

_+memory scenes+_

* * *

Severus sighed in frustration as his last class ended. School had begun again a few weeks ago and nothing between him and his son had changed. The boy still hardly spoke to him, which caused Severus to worry. What could have possibly caused Alec to stop talking to him all together? He didn't understand why the boy suddenly distanced himself from everyone except his two friends. Seeing as it was Friday and there were no classes tomorrow, Severus figured he'd get Alec down here and settle this matter once and for all.

Later that evening after dinner, Severus approached Alec, who was walking alongside his two friends.

"Alec," Severus greeted. "I would appreciate it if you would accompany me, providing you are not preoccupied."

Alec turned to his two friends, "I'll meet up with you guys later."

They nodded and headed back to the common room while Alec followed his father. Instead of going to the man's office like he'd expected, they went to their rooms. Alec sat down on the sofa and looked at his father wearily.

"What did you call me down here for?"

Severus took a deep breath and looked his son in the eye. "For the last month you have been avoiding me and I have had enough. What has caused you to act this way?"

Alec looked away. "It doesn't matter. I just had some issues that I needed to think about."

"Such as?" the older man prompted.

Alec shrugged. "It doesn't matter," he repeated. "I'm not going to talk about it anyway."

"Alec…" he began warningly.

The boy rolled his eyes. "I don't want to be in here right now having this conversation. Why can't you just let it drop?"

"I can't do that because I need to know what is wrong with you," the Potions Master explained. "Let me help you though whatever you are going through."

The Ravenclaw shook his head. "There's nothing you can do!"

"Why not?" Severus asked. "I am you father and I am supposed to be here for you if you'll just let me help you through whatever is troubling you."

"You just don't get it, do you? I don't want your help! I'm leaving." Alec stood up to go but Severus caught him by the arm and looked into Alec's eyes. Before Severus could think twice, he pushed his mind into his sons.

The memory he was searching for was in the front of his son's mind since they'd been arguing.

_+"What do you know about your father?" She asked curiously, with a sickening smile._

_Alec stared at her with confusion. "I know a lot about my father," he said cautiously. He wasn't too sure where she was going with all of this._

"_Do you know of his past, and potentially current, loyalties?" _

_The boy frowned. What loyalties?_

"_Judging by your face, you do not know." She paused dramatically. "Your father was a death eater," she stated matter-of-factly._

_Alec's eyes widened before he shook his head furiously. She was probably just saying all this to confuse him._

_She tutted again. "Keep writing, Mr. Snape. I can tell you don't believe me. Have you ever seen his bare arms, particularly the left one?"+_

Severus could feel Alec struggling to push him out of his mind but before he left, another one of the boy's memories surfaced.

_+The Potions Professor leaned closer to the Headmaster and Alec held his breath to hear what his father was about to say._

"_It has been getting darker," Severus said quietly. He grasped his left arm for a second before releasing it._

_The Headmaster grimaced. "I do not believe this is the place to discuss that. Perhaps it would be best if you came to my office tomorrow afternoon."_

_The younger man nodded sharply before turning away, his cloak billowing behind him as he stalked down the corridor. _

_Ale waited until both men had disappeared before exiting the bathroom. He certainly had a lot more on his mind now. His father had practically proved that what Umbridge said was true. He was really confused now._

_Walking quickly, Alec made it back to the Ravenclaw tower without being seen by Filch. Just as he was about to say the password, his father stepped out of the shadows. _

"_Alec," he greeted. "How was your detention?" he asked after taking in his son's pale face._

_The boy shrugged. "Fine."_

_Severus frowned. "Are you available tomorrow for a lesson?"_

_Alec shook his head. "No, sorry."_

"_Another detention?"_

_The boy grimaced. "Unfortunately. Look, I have some assignments to finish so I need to go inside now."_

_Severus studied his son more carefully. "Go ahead. Finish up your assignments. Good night," he added as Alec disappeared into the common room. His son seemed a bit off, like he was giving him the cold shoulder. Severus couldn't figure out why, but he would soon._

_Alec sighed as he sat down on his bed. He couldn't handle talking to his father right now. He was just so confused and didn't know what to think anymore. Could his father really be a death eater?+_

Severus' shock at the last memory caused him to lose concentration and Alec was able to eject him from his mind. He couldn't believe that his son knew about the dark mark on his arm. While in the memory, he could feel Alec's shock and denial about his father's potential death eater status.

He remembered that evening too, when he himself was worried about the dark mark darkening. He couldn't believe that Umbridge told his son either. He was torn from his shocked musings when he son slowly got to his feet. The reality of what he just did sunk in as Alec looked at him with such anger.

"How could you?" Alec asked, his voice rising to a high pitch. It was clear the boy was angry and judging by the quiet chocking sound, he could tell that the boy was on the verge of tears.

"How could you!" Alec shouted this time. "I trusted you and you just couldn't let it go!"

The boy looked like he was going to say more but instead, he turned and ran for the door.

"Alec!" Severus called out, finally finding his voice. "Wait--"

The third year didn't even stop as he rushed out the door and quickly disappeared down the hall.

Severus sighed and shook his head dejectedly. He didn't know what possessed him to break into his son's mind. He could only hope Alec would forgive him soon.

* * *

Alec ran through the halls, thankfully not running into any teachers, especially Umbridge. He didn't know what he'd do right now if he ran into her. The Ravenclaw made a beeline for the Entrance Hall and quickly stepped outside. He never saw the concerned gaze from Lisa as he ran right by her. All he could think about doing was getting outside and away from his father. Without caring who could've seen, Alec changed into his Snow Leopard form and headed right to the Forbidden Forest.

Lisa had seen the angry, hurt expression on Alec's face and knew something went wrong between him and Severus. Fearing Alec might do something stupid, she followed him outside. Sure enough, the boy foolishly changed into his form without caring who might be nearby. She risked a quick glance around and didn't spot anyone. Also taking a chance, she too transformed and took flight after her friend.

Alec was much harder to track seeing as his fur was white and there was plenty of snow outside. Her form's sharp eye sight allowed her to follow Alec as he dashed into the woods. She flew lower and kept up with the Snow Leopard. Finally Alec stopped in a clearing that was relatively snow free, due to the 

dense tree coverage. He stopped near a fallen tree log and slowly changed back. As she landed, she could see the tears threatening to fall on his face. Lisa quickly changed back into human form and slowly approached him.

Alec looked up at her before turned away and wiping at his eyes. "What are you doing here?" he asked grumpily.

Lisa sat down next to him. "I saw you leaving the castle and I could tell something was wrong." She left it at that, not asking him to talk. She knew if he wanted to, he would.

Alec sat there, not saying anything. He was bursting to tell someone what his father just did, but he didn't think he could say anything without breaking down. Sighing deeply, he started talking.

"A few months ago, when I had my first detention with Umbridge, she told me something." Here Alec paused. Lisa sat quietly, waiting for him to continue. "She asked how much I knew about my father. About his _loyalties_," Alec spat.

"What loyalties?" she asked softly.

"To _Voldemort_," Alec growled. "She said he was a death eater."

"That's ridiculous," she scoffed.

Alec turned his sad gaze to her. "I thought that too," he said quietly.

Lisa gasped. "You –you mean he _is _one_?_"

The boy shrugged. "I haven't outright asked him the truth. I'm not sure he'd tell me."

"Why would you believe just Umbridge's word?"

"Later that night, when I was heading back to the dorm, I saw my dad talking with Professor Dumbledore. He said '_It has been getting darker'_ and then he grabbed his left arm briefly."

The girl frowned. "What would that have to do with his arm?"

"That's where the death eaters get the dark mark branded. Once it's on there, it's there for life."

"So what happened tonight? When you went to see your father, I mean."

Alec signed deeply. "He broke my trust." He raised his miserable expression and looked her in the eye. "He broke into _my_ _mind._"

Lisa gasped again. "What? Why?"

Alec furiously wiped at the tears threatening to fall. "He wanted to know why I hadn't been talking to him lately, why I'd been avoiding him and all. I didn't want to talk to him and I guess he just had enough."

"That still doesn't give him an excuse to violate your mind." Lisa said as she rubbed comforting circles on Alec's back. "What did he see?"

"Nothing other than those two scenes I was just telling you about. He only saw what Umbridge said to me and the part where I overheard him talking to Dumbledore."

"Professor Dumbledore," Lisa corrected automatically.

Alec smiled ever so slightly. "Fine then, _Professor_ Dumbledore."

"Did he see the part in your detention where Umbridge has your writing with that horrid quill?"

He shook his head negatively. "I'm sorta glad too; otherwise he wouldn't have let me run out of there like that. He'd probably want to talk about her too and I just can't handle that tonight."

Lisa nodded. She looked up to the sky and noticed how it had been getting darker. "We should probably head back too. It's getting dark and we'd better get back before Umbridge catches us too."

Alec nodded slowly and got to his feet. He looked at his friend, suddenly realizing she must have followed him in her animagus form in order to keep up as he ran through the forest.

"Have you been practicing your flying?"

Lisa grinned. "I have every chance I get. I don't really like flying on a broom but when I'm in raven form, it's so much better."

Alec smiled. "What do you say we race back and see who gets there first?"

"You're on!" The two friends changed and dashed off back to Hogwarts in a playful race.

* * *

Alec refused to speak to his father unless absolutely necessary. He wasn't speaking much to his father before the incident, but now he was completely ignoring the man. It hurt that his father broke into his mind and insisted on seeing those memories without his permission. He wasn't sure what to do, so he just stayed as far away from the man as possible.

The third Hogsmeade weekend for the year was coming up in the beginning of March and Alec was determined to go. He'd been in detention for the first two visits earlier that year. With the Azkaban breakout earlier that year, the number of trips to Hogsmeade was greatly limited, due to the worry about the two Lestranges possible endangering the students. Alec was sure his father was going to refuse to allow him to go, but he was shocked when the man didn't do anything to stop him as the three friends left together.

As they walked around the village, Alec learned the reason his father didn't stop him from going out today. Severus was actually one of the Professors that went to Hogsmeade to supervise this trip. Just before the three students went into grab a Butterbeer, Alec checked his pockets and realized he must've forgotten to grab his money before leaving. He was just about to ask his friends to borrow some, when his father approached.

"Alec," Severus greeted. "Ms. Bellini, Mr. Johnson, if you would excuse us for a moment."

The two nodded and moved away, not far though. They looked into the window of a nearby shop while Alec talked to his father.

"What do you want?" Alec asked rather coldly.

"I wanted to give you some money to spend while you and your friends are here." Severus said, reaching into his pocket for a small coin bag.

The boy shook his head. "I don't want your money. I can just borrow from my friends and pay them back later when we get back to Hogwarts."

The older man sighed. "How much longer are you going to be like this? I have apologized repeatedly but you refuse to accept it."

Alec glared at him. "I'm not discussing this while we are out here. I am not going to just get over this like it was some petty argument."

"It has been two months!" Severus exclaimed, raising his voice. He saw the boy's two friends look over and lowered his voice. "I have expressed my sorrow for my actions and there is nothing more that I can do. What will it take for you to forgive me?"

Alec shook his head. "Whatever." He turned and headed towards his friends.

"Alec," the Potions Master called out. The boy stopped but didn't turn around. "Please at least accept this money and go enjoy yourself today."

The boy turned back and sighed. He took a step towards his father but stopped when he saw the man's eyes widen suddenly as he reached for his wand.

"What-" Alec started to say but was jerked backwards. The cloaked person holding him whispered a word swiftly that activated a portkey and they vanished from Hogsmeade, leaving a very shocked Severus behind.

* * *

A/N: I had to do it... It's just wrong to leave you all hanging but I had to do it otherwise my rabid plot bunny would bite my fingers off. I am already working on the next chapter, which should be intersting! I hope you all enjoyed this and I hope to get the next one up pretty quickly. Please dont forget to review! :)


	9. Chapter 9

_The cloaked person holding him whispered a word swiftly that activated a portkey and they vanished from Hogsmeade, leaving a very shocked Severus behind._

Alec tried not to panic as he was whisked away from his friends and his father. He could only guess as to who held him, and if he was right, he was in serious trouble. Alec landed unsteadily as the portkey deposited them in a dark room. The boy yanked himself away from the man as quickly as possible and reached in his robes for his wand. Just as he grasped it, he was shoved down on the ground and the man before him made a grab for his wand.

Alec, not wanting to lose his only chance of survival, held tightly on the wand and tired not to let the stronger man take it. His attempts were unsuccessful as the tall dark haired man had a strong hold on his wand. As a last attempt to regain his wand, Alec pulled the man's hand up and bit down, hoping he'd release it.

The man grunted and used his other hand to slap him upside the head. Alec fell back and watched as the man tucked his wand away. Before he could do anything further, the man muttered the body binding spell at Alec, removing any chance he had at running off. He then levitated the boy down the hallway and into another room, where he unceremoniously dropped Alec on the ground.

Just before closing the door, the man removed the body bind from Alec, who sat up quickly and backed into a corner. The sounds of a door locking were heard, which assured the boy he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. He pulled his legs up to his chest and huddled in the corner. His breathing was slightly erratic as he tried to calm his racing heart. He felt foolish for previously being so mad at his father and wished that the man were here now.

* * *

"We have to do something now!" Severus demanded.

"Severus," the Headmaster sighed wearily. "There is not much we can do until we have more information. We do not know who has Alec or where he is. There is nothing else we can do until we learn more."

"There must be something!" the Potions Master cried in frustration.

"We are doing all we can. I have already called those in the Order and several have been able to respond on such notice. They are doing all they can to learn of his whereabouts."

"Snape!" Sirius yelled as he came barreling in the room, Remus following right after him. "Is it true? Is he gone?"

"Yes you idiot!" Severus sneered. "It's not as if I'm up here having a cup of tea with the Headmaster," he muttered sarcastically.

Sirius ignored his last comment. "What has been done already? Is anyone out there looking for him? Do you know who has him?"

Albus replied before Severus could say another sarcastic comment. "I have been able to contact several Order members and they are alert. We do not know who has him, but we can only assume it was a follower of the Dark Lord, perhaps even one of the escaped Lestranges. They may have found out _who_ he really is or perhaps it is just a ploy for revenge against Severus. With the incident between Severus and Lucius Malfoy last year, I am sure that the dark side knows of his true loyalties."

Sirius sat down wearily. "I hope for Alec's sake, it's only an act of revenge. If they knew…" he trailed off uncertainly.

Remus sat down in the other vacant chair and leaned forward. "What can we do to help?"

* * *

Alec was startled from his light exhausted slumber as the door creaked open. He sat up straight and focused on seeing in the dark room. He could barely make out any shapes standing in the door way.

The sound of footsteps drew close and Alec didn't have any time to react as he was yanked to his feet. Two bulky men stood on either side of him, each grasping his arms tightly. The pulled him forward, causing him to stumble until he regained his footing.

It took Alec a moment for his eyes to adjust to the bright lighting outside his… _cell._ He shuddered at the thought of returning to the dark dingy little room.

The two men, both whose faces were concealed by their hoods and masks, kept a tight hold on his arms as they marched him into another large room. Alec's arms were released before the two men shoved him down on his knees. The boy looked around and noticed the small group of cloaked people standing in the room. Alec looked towards the front of the room and gasped in revulsion and pain as he spotted the deformed body of who he assumed was Voldemort.

The scar on his forehead ached furiously when he looked over at that… _thing._ He didn't know what had become of Voldemort, but it was unsightly. Alec's hand itched to reach up and sooth his aching scar, but that would likely be a giveaway to his true identity. He wasn't sure if they knew who he really was or not and he didn't want to give himself away. That would only mean more trouble for him.

"Come…" the weak voice sounded. "Grab the boy and we shall complete the ritual in the graveyard."

Alec was pulled to his feet again and his heart pounded against his chest as they headed outside to the nearby graveyard. He had no idea what ritual was about to take place but he had a feeling it wasn't going to be something good.

He was shoved on the ground in front of a headstone before he was pushed against said object and tied to it. Alec pulled on the ropes to see how secure they were and was rather dejected to discover he wasn't likely going anywhere.

"Master, it is ready," one of the men squeaked.

Alec snapped his head towards the direction of the familiar voice. Standing before him was none other than Peter Pettigrew. He was supposed to be in Azkaban! During Alec's first year at Hogwarts, the rat had 

been captured and sentenced to prison for life. It was all over the papers when the Lestranges escaped, but how Pettigrew escaped without notice perplexed Alec greatly.

"Begin now," the _thing_ known as Voldemort instructed.

Peter, being the faithful little rat he was, complied. He lowered the bundle containing Voldemort into a cauldron and then he pulled out his wand. The other four people, who Alec assumed were Death Eaters, gathered around in a circle, each with a hood up and a white mask covering their faces.

"_Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son!_" the rat chanted, pointing his wand at Alec, who watched in shock as bones buried in the dirt beneath him rose up and landed carefully in the boiling cauldron. The liquid inside it bubbled and sparked.

Pettigrew's shaky hands pulled out a large sharp blade. He steadied his hand as best as he could over the cauldron and intoned, "_Flesh – of the servant w-willingly given – you will – revive – your master._" With a quick swipe, the hand missing a finger was cut off and landed with a splash in the cauldron. It sizzled once more and bubbled voraciously. The rat animagus sobbed as his arm bled freely. He managed to gather himself enough to approach Alec, who paled as the man advanced.

The squeaky man grabbed a hold onto Alec's wrist and pulled it forward, straining on the ropes holding him in place. "_B-blood of the enemy … forcibly taken __-- you will resurrect your foe._" The man recited as he used a different knife to cut into the boy's arm, seemingly deep, and gathered the red liquid before approaching the sizzling cauldron.

Alec watched in horror as the blood dropped in and the liquid turned pure white in the cauldron. It hissed and sizzled and bubbled like mad. Alec could only hope that Voldemort had drowned. As the foggy steam cleared, a tall man stood where a caldron once was.

"Robe me," he hissed.

Voldemort had risen again.

* * *

Severus was pacing in the Headmaster's office when he suddenly gasped and fell to his knees. The Headmaster rushed to him and knelt down.

"What's wrong, Severus?"

The Potions Master turned his pain filled gaze towards his left and yanked the sleeve back, revealing the dark mark. He turned his gaze upwards to the others in the office.

"He has returned," Severus croaked out.

* * *

Voldemort turned his gaze to the boy tied to the tombstone. He looked closely at the boy for a moment before he tossed his head back and let out a deep menacing laugh.

His followers stood there unsurely, not comprehending why their master was laughing.

Voldemort turned his red eyes to face his followers. "Do you know who you've brought me?"

Rodolphus Lestrange stepped forward and bowed to his master. "Alec Snape, my lord."

The Dark Wizard turned back to the boy. "That isn't your real name, now is it?"

Alec stared at him, his heart pounding painfully in his chest. He was surely dead now. If Voldemort could tell it was him… well he just knew he would be doomed.

"Why don't you tell them your name?" Voldemort asked with an evil smirk.

Alec clenched his jaw tightly and refused to answer.

Voldemort grew impatient and pulled out his wand. "_Imperio_!"

'_Just tell them your real name_,' a voice whispered convincingly in Alec's head.

The light floating sensation of a world with no cares made answering the command seem easy. He opened his mouth to speak, but another thought popped in his head.

_Why_? He questioned. _Why should he say his name? Wasn't it supposed to be a secret?_

'_Say your name!' _the voice commanded sharply.

"Har-" Alec coughed out, before catching himself. "No!" The freedom he once felt was gone, reminding him of his current situation.

Voldemort focused his sharp red eyes on the boy. This young boy threw off the Imperious curse like it was nothing difficult. "You could have saved yourself the pain," he hissed.

Alec wasn't sure what he meant, but in the next moment, he understood. Pain beyond anything he'd ever felt flowed through his body. It was dreadful, painful, and left him aching after the curse was stopped. His limbs shook unsteadily afterwards, causing him to worry greatly.

Voldemort turned his attention back to his followers. "Wormtail, come here."

The man with the bleeding stump on his arm shuffled forward, still sniveling over the loss of his hand. "Master, please," he begged, holding his arm outwards.

"Your other arm," the red-eyed man hissed. He pressed his wand against the dark mark on the rat's arm and Alec watched as it turned black. Not long after, the popping sounds of Apparation were heard. More followers of Voldemort appeared, causing Alec to feel more doomed.

Part of Alec wished his father really was one of those Apparating in, while the other part of him hoped with all his might that his father wasn't really a follower of this man. Every argument he'd had with Severus seemed so ridiculous when he thought back on it all now. Here he was, surrounded by people who were likely to not let him escape alive, and all he could think about was how stupid he'd been acting 

for the last few months. Severus may have broken into his mind, but Alec felt foolish for having held the grudge for his long. If he made it out alive, he was determined to patch things up between them.

"Welcome my faithful followers," Voldemort said, causing Alec to turn his attentions back to the vile man. He noticed that Pettigrew had stopped sobbing and now sported a silver hand in place of the one he sacrificed for Voldemort.

Alec listened in disgust as Voldemort greeted his followers, commenting on those who were absent. Some were in prison, while others betrayed him.

Voldemort made sure to look at the boy as he commented on who else should have been here. "Severus Snape should have stood here. Did your _father_," he spat the word, "tell you that he served for me? That he groveled at my feet and participated in the torture and killings of worthless muggles? Did he boy?"

Alec glared at him. "I don't care what you say about him. I don't believe you!" While he was certain his father had _at one point_ been a Death Eater, he was sure the man wasn't like that anymore. The father he knew wasn't like that, no matter what Voldemort said.

The dark wizard turned back to his followers. "This boy is present today because he was going to be an example of what happens to those who betray me. _No one_ will get away with betraying me," he hissed.

"Those who helped with my return brought me this boy as instructed, but instead I find they didn't just bring me Alec Snape," he paused, glancing at each follower. "They brought me none other than…" Here, Alec sucked in a breath, knowing what the man was about to reveal. "…Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived."

Gasps of surprise were heard and every follower turned towards the boy, trying to see how it was possible. One Death Eater stepped forward and bowed lowly.

"Master, how is this possible; how do you know?" a woman's voice asked. Harry figured it was that crazy witch that had escaped, Bellatrix, he thought her name was.

"Do you dare doubt me, Bella?" he demanded, lifting his wand as if to curse her.

"No Master, never. I wouldn't doubt you," she hastened to explain, kissing the hems of his robes.

"I know because when I failed to kill young Harry Potter, a connection was created. I can sense it and despite the _pathetic_ job at hiding his scar, it is still there. Enough of this talk! Bella- fetch the boy's wand. Wormtail, untie him. We are going to have a duel."

Alec tried to hide his trembling hands as Pettigrew approached. How in Merlin's name was he going to duel Voldemort and live? Sure he'd taken a few lessons before with Severus, but that wasn't likely to help a man ages older than him, one who knew loads more curses as well.

The rat untied him and yanked him to his feet. His familiar wand was shoved into his hand and he gripped it tightly. He stood there unsteadily, unsure if he'd even stand a chance at all.

"Bow Harry," Voldemort commanded, demonstrating a mock bow.

Alec, figuring his best chance was to play along, bowed very slightly before straightening up and raising his wand. Before a single spell could leave his lips, he was writhing on the ground, under the Cruciatus curse again. It was just as painful as last time and getting to his feet was extremely difficult, but he knew he must do it. The Death Eaters watching laughed and mocked him as he tried to control his shuddering hands. The curse had been held on longer that time and his nerves were not used to such torture, hence them shaking.

Once again, before Alec could get the first syllable of a spell out, he was cursed, this time a cutting curse nicked his leg barely, but it still stung and bled freely. Alec reached to pickup his wand, and panicked when he saw Voldemort raise his wand again. The boy threw his hands out and closed his eyes, thinking that this was the final straw.

After a second, he opened his eyes, and was astonished to see that a blue shield had formed and blocked another cutting curse that had been sent his way.

"Did your _father_ teach you wandless magic boy?" Voldemort sneered.

Alec fumbled around for another moment until his hand finally grasped his wand. He slowly got to his feet and faced the Dark Lord.

"Don't talk about my father anymore!" Alec shouted, pointing his wand at the Dark Lord and yelling the first spell that came to mind.

"_Expelliarmus_!"

At the same time, Voldemort decided he'd had enough and yelled, "_Avada_ _Kedavra_!"

The two curses met and an explosion occurred, throwing the two backwards. Alec landed against a gravestone further away from the dark wizards. He could hear the Death Eaters frantically trying to find out if there Master was okay. His head was throbbing like mad, causing him to feel extremely disorientated. He blinked his eyes several times trying to focus on something.

"Where's the boy!" Voldemort demanded after getting back to his feet.

Alec knew there was no way he was getting up after his last fall. This was it. They'd find him over here and he'd never get to see his father again. He'd never get to say how sorry he felt for being so angry over everything yet. He'd never get to thank him for all the little things he took for granted. He'd never even get to apologize for all this stupid stuff he'd done.

He'd never get to see Hogwarts again, or his friends. His two best friends that he'd never get to study again with or to play while in their animagus forms together. His home too, the only place he'd ever actually called home. All that would be gone since if Voldemort had his way, he'd never leave here alive.

A strong resolve filled Alec as he slowly sat up. His movement caused Voldemort's sharp red eyes to hone in on him. Alec concentrated on using every last ounce of magical energy to accomplish something he'd never done before. Being a Ravenclaw, he'd read about it of course, but certainly never tried it.

He looked the Dark Lord in the eye before he Apparated away to one place he knew well. Smiling at his success, he promptly fell over and passed out.

* * *

A/N: So there's the next chapter. I didn't really like the last part of it but I didn't want to delay posting this chapter any longer. So here you have it and hopefully you all liked it for the most part. Thanks for all the great reviews -I really do appreciate them. :-)


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